What’s fun in autumn-time Matsu?

Join Matsu’s three special autumn fests

Explore Matsu’s culture and ride bicycles in this scenic place on a mild autumn day

 

Matsu’s three main autumn rites:

Coming of Age: The heart-felt coming-of-age ceremony is held in mid August in the lunar calendar. On this day, all 16-year-olds receive coronations and good wishes from elders in the town, while parents express their gratitude to “Madame Linsui” for protecting their children. The ceremony is held at Wuling Temple of Niufengjing in Nangan. It includes the following: the anti-drooling ceremony, crossing-over of fire, spraying sacred water, the challenge game, blessings stamps, hanging wish-making cards, coronation, and receiving lucky eggs. The ceremony is full of Mindong cultural characteristics.

Pagoda-burning Festival: Pagoda-burning used to be a common practice for the Mid-moon Festival in Matsu. Today, however, only the residents of Tieban Village do it. Hailed as one of the 100 most important religious rites in Taiwan, Pagoda-burning Festival is characterized by a brick pagoda that burns waste bamboo and wood from village households. This indicates that everything inauspicious in the past year is burned and that blessings will prevail in the upcoming year. Now, to allow more people to take part, the festival organizer distributes “purification cards” on which people may write things they want to get rid of and burn to remove bad luck.

Ascending of Goddess Mazu: The rite is held on September 9 in the lunar calendar - according to legends, Mazu attained enlightenment on this day. To thank her for her sacrifice and compassionism, these days, the people of Matsu hold the rite in front of the gigantic goddess statue at Mazu Religion and Culture Park. Upon attending it, visitors can easily find how unique and solemn this event is.

 

A cycling itinerary for beginners:

Fu’ao Port → Fuqing Hiking Trail (Nangan) → Qingshui Village → Zhushan Power Plant → Tianhou Temple

It is believed that Goddess Mazu’s physical body was buried at the temple site. On weekends and holidays, soldiers and visitors alike come to the temple for blessings. They like to take pictures with the magnificent Mazu statue, too!